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Wellbeing Apps: There’s an app for that
Jeni Fisher, head of lifestyle partnerships for Google Play, gives the low-down on her personal top five wellbeing apps at the moment
Yogaia
DETAILS: Freemium (subscriptions from £7.50/month), iOS/Android
Convenience is the name of the game for Yogaia, the world’s first live, interactive online yoga studio. Launched in October 2013, the app has seen strong uptake in native Finland, but the UK is where the team are betting on considerable growth in 2017.
Next time a client laments the struggle of maintaining their well-honed routines while at home or travelling – and therefore unable to make it to your club – consider prescribing them this app. The service is the perfect complement to in-person classes: as well as being available across web/iOS and Android, you can also stream recorded classes via Chromecast to TV screens, making it a convenient option for gym-goers who would otherwise miss out on their regular in-person fix.
Recorded classes are free to view, but paying members (from beginners to more experienced yogis) can book a remote spot at live video sessions, all for “less than the price of a studio class”. Paying subscribers also have the option of receiving personalised instructions if they allow Yogaia to access their phone’s camera.
There’s a choice of yoga classes by level of expertise and length, and the app also offers live talks from yoga practitioners to provide a welcome reprieve from some of the more strenuous sessions.
Progression Fitness Pro
DETAILS: £3.69, Android only
Progression Fit Pro is the brainchild of weightlifter Zoltan Demant, and was created in response to a clear gap in the fitness app market. Quickly establishing itself as the best-in-class companion for gym or at-home weightlifting workouts, Progression Fitness Pro guides people through various pre-loaded and configurable exercises with instructions, rest timers and workout summaries.
The app does exactly what the name suggests, making it more achievable than ever to chart and encourage progression with every weightlifting session thanks to powerful statistics that offer the user an in-depth analysis of their fitness and strength-building journey.
Gone are the days when gym clients used pen and paper to track their reps; all they now need is this app on their Android phone or Android Wear smartwatch to keep a log of their session.
Members can also sync/back up their data to Google Drive, which makes it easier than ever for gyms and personal trainers to monitor their clients’ progress.
With over 1,600 five-star ratings on Google Play at the time of writing, it’s clear this app is meeting the needs of today’s weightlifters, so why not spread the word to your clients and increase their chances of progressing too?
Lifesum
DETAILS: Freemium, iOS/Android
As health club operators know, a healthy and balanced diet is crucial for members to achieve their health and fitness goals. With this in mind, Lifesum’s expert in-house nutritionists have crafted several bespoke meal plans to assist subscribers in reaching popular health goals, such as building strength or losing a few pounds.
The Swedish start-up’s mission is to simplify healthy living, and its recent US$10m funding round will certainly help boost its trajectory in priority markets such as the US.
The app is one of the top monetising health and fitness Android apps of 2016, thanks in part to its compelling subscription service. Subscribers receive many benefits, including access to detailed meal information down to the very last detail, helping them track their intake of sodium, saturated fat and more.
While meal tracking is a core in-app functionality, connecting to other apps such as Google Fit, Withings and Runkeeper also allows users to seamlessly track their exercise data in the same place. Tapping into the user’s personal activity data also allows Lifesum to further assist them in reaching their goal – for example, sending a push notification suggesting a high-protein meal immediately after an intense weightlifting session.
Even better, Lifesum customers can export their data from Google Fit/Apple Health and share it with their health club, empowering you to even better serve your members’ needs.
Fabulous
DETAILS: Freemium, Android only
Fabulous is an app which originated in Duke University’s Behavioural Economics lab, taking a scientific and behavioural approach to transforming lives by resetting habits with healthy rituals.
Your health club members are all likely have good intentions, but it’s only when these intentions become ingrained habits that memberships are retained and clubs thrive. Maintaining those habits is the goal of Fabulous. The app sends timely push notifications to prompt the adoption of a new mindset – for example, resetting your brain to view exercise as a privilege and not a chore.
The makers of the app recognise that setting small, achievable goals in the short term is the key to ultimately accomplishing longer-term lifestyle changes. With this in mind, the first routine a new user is tasked with establishing is drinking water in the morning.
The app coaches its users to take a holistic approach to health and fitness, so alongside adding simple habits like drinking more water, you also have the option of setting a habit to ‘eat fish’, ‘floss’ or ‘stretch’ – again, each of these habits on their own are manageable, but together they can truly supercharge your clientele and help them live a happier, healthier life.
Jefit
DETAILS: Freemium, iOS/Android
The Jefit app has been designed to help people stay motivated in their fitness routines. It allows users to easily track workouts and share statistics with friends and others in the fitness community – something that’s widely recognised as being key to achieving your goals, especially in the era of social media.
The 4 million-strong Jefit community is a forum for users to share their body stat goals and benchmark exercise progress with friends and like-minded people. The app offers access to over 1,300 exercises, with detailed animations, step-by-step instructions and expert tips.
Subscribing to Jefit elite (currently priced at £23.64 a year) offers a range of premium benefits, from deeper training insights to enhanced website features. For example, Jefit elite users can access comparison charts with gym buddies via the web interface, as well as training progress reports and exclusive workout routines.
A large proportion of gym members can’t afford to train with one of your club’s personal training team – but Jefit’s motivational approach could help boost your chances of retaining these members as they work towards their goals.
